Not quite. They shared 1st with Seattle when they were 1-1 to start the season in Japan before anyone else played.They are, however, only the 3rd team in MLB history to win the division without having never otherwise led it outright.

The Bestest:W.C.fields forever: I believe it's the 1st time all years the A's are in 1st place.

Not quite. They shared 1st with Seattle when they were 1-1 to start the season in Japan before anyone else played.They are, however, only the 3rd team in MLB history to win the division without having never otherwise led it outright.

Also only the 5th team ever to win the division after overcoming a 13 game or more deficit. If I'm not mistaken, they overcame a 5 game deficit with only 9 to play.

The old Moneyball, which found that OPS to be vastly underrated, but more more correlated with winning than the prized stats is dead. That's because it's no longer being underrated. But that's only part of the story with Moneyball. The true Moneyball game is to find players that contribute to winning, but whose particular skills are underrated (and thus undervalued). So, as the market shifts, Billy Beane has had to shift as well, since Oakland can't really afford payroll numbers that are in the stratosphere. In reality, it's never been dead, it's just had to reconfigure itself for the market changes.

Didn't St. Louis limping into the playoffs in 06, (83-78) yet winning the series all but destroy the idea that teams from weak divisions can't do well in the postseason? Aren't we done discounting a team because of the quality of the division they play in?

The old Moneyball, which found that OPS to be vastly underrated, but more more correlated with winning than the prized stats is dead. That's because it's no longer being underrated. But that's only part of the story with Moneyball. The true Moneyball game is to find players that contribute to winning, but whose particular skills are underrated (and thus undervalued). So, as the market shifts, Billy Beane has had to shift as well, since Oakland can't really afford payroll numbers that are in the stratosphere. In reality, it's never been dead, it's just had to reconfigure itself for the market changes.

seumasokelly:The Bestest: W.C.fields forever: I believe it's the 1st time all years the A's are in 1st place.

Not quite. They shared 1st with Seattle when they were 1-1 to start the season in Japan before anyone else played.They are, however, only the 3rd team in MLB history to win the division without having never otherwise led it outright.

Also only the 5th team ever to win the division after overcoming a 13 game or more deficit. If I'm not mistaken, they overcame a 5 game deficit with only 9 to play.

Didn't the Mets have a 7 game lead with 10 to play?Somebody remind me.

W.C.fields forever:seumasokelly: The Bestest: W.C.fields forever: I believe it's the 1st time all years the A's are in 1st place.

Not quite. They shared 1st with Seattle when they were 1-1 to start the season in Japan before anyone else played.They are, however, only the 3rd team in MLB history to win the division without having never otherwise led it outright.

Also only the 5th team ever to win the division after overcoming a 13 game or more deficit. If I'm not mistaken, they overcame a 5 game deficit with only 9 to play.

Didn't the Mets have a 7 game lead with 10 to play?Somebody remind me.

//Mets fan.

The New York Mets' 2007 season was the 46th regular season for the Mets. The Mets were defending their first divisional championship since 1988. While the Atlanta Braves were counted as possible competition, the Philadelphia Phillies were predicted as the front-runners, albeit by their own star shortstop, Jimmy Rollins.[1] Ultimately, Rollins' prediction rang true, as the Phillies won the NL East Division title on the last day of the regular season. With a seven-game lead on September 12, the Mets suffered a historic collapse by losing 12 of their last 17 games and missing the postseason. It is regarded as one of the worst collapses in MLB history.

seumasokelly:W.C.fields forever: seumasokelly: The Bestest: W.C.fields forever: I believe it's the 1st time all years the A's are in 1st place.

Not quite. They shared 1st with Seattle when they were 1-1 to start the season in Japan before anyone else played.They are, however, only the 3rd team in MLB history to win the division without having never otherwise led it outright.

Also only the 5th team ever to win the division after overcoming a 13 game or more deficit. If I'm not mistaken, they overcame a 5 game deficit with only 9 to play.

Didn't the Mets have a 7 game lead with 10 to play?Somebody remind me.

//Mets fan.

The New York Mets' 2007 season was the 46th regular season for the Mets. The Mets were defending their first divisional championship since 1988. While the Atlanta Braves were counted as possible competition, the Philadelphia Phillies were predicted as the front-runners, albeit by their own star shortstop, Jimmy Rollins.[1] Ultimately, Rollins' prediction rang true, as the Phillies won the NL East Division title on the last day of the regular season. With a seven-game lead on September 12, the Mets suffered a historic collapse by losing 12 of their last 17 games and missing the postseason. It is regarded as one of the worst collapses in MLB history.

W.C.fields forever:seumasokelly: W.C.fields forever: seumasokelly: The Bestest: W.C.fields forever: I believe it's the 1st time all years the A's are in 1st place.

Not quite. They shared 1st with Seattle when they were 1-1 to start the season in Japan before anyone else played.They are, however, only the 3rd team in MLB history to win the division without having never otherwise led it outright.

Also only the 5th team ever to win the division after overcoming a 13 game or more deficit. If I'm not mistaken, they overcame a 5 game deficit with only 9 to play.

Didn't the Mets have a 7 game lead with 10 to play?Somebody remind me.

//Mets fan.

The New York Mets' 2007 season was the 46th regular season for the Mets. The Mets were defending their first divisional championship since 1988. While the Atlanta Braves were counted as possible competition, the Philadelphia Phillies were predicted as the front-runners, albeit by their own star shortstop, Jimmy Rollins.[1] Ultimately, Rollins' prediction rang true, as the Phillies won the NL East Division title on the last day of the regular season. With a seven-game lead on September 12, the Mets suffered a historic collapse by losing 12 of their last 17 games and missing the postseason. It is regarded as one of the worst collapses in MLB history.

So...It wasn't as bad as I thought.

Not quite, but still pretty bad. Definitely comparable to other memorable collapses. The Angels giving up a 13 game lead over the last 6 weeks of the regular season in 1995 then losing the one-game playoff 9-1, etc.

seumasokelly:W.C.fields forever: seumasokelly: W.C.fields forever: seumasokelly: The Bestest: W.C.fields forever: I believe it's the 1st time all years the A's are in 1st place.

Not quite. They shared 1st with Seattle when they were 1-1 to start the season in Japan before anyone else played.They are, however, only the 3rd team in MLB history to win the division without having never otherwise led it outright.

Also only the 5th team ever to win the division after overcoming a 13 game or more deficit. If I'm not mistaken, they overcame a 5 game deficit with only 9 to play.

Didn't the Mets have a 7 game lead with 10 to play?Somebody remind me.

//Mets fan.

The New York Mets' 2007 season was the 46th regular season for the Mets. The Mets were defending their first divisional championship since 1988. While the Atlanta Braves were counted as possible competition, the Philadelphia Phillies were predicted as the front-runners, albeit by their own star shortstop, Jimmy Rollins.[1] Ultimately, Rollins' prediction rang true, as the Phillies won the NL East Division title on the last day of the regular season. With a seven-game lead on September 12, the Mets suffered a historic collapse by losing 12 of their last 17 games and missing the postseason. It is regarded as one of the worst collapses in MLB history.

So...It wasn't as bad as I thought.

Not quite, but still pretty bad. Definitely comparable to other memorable collapses. The Angels giving up a 13 game lead over the last 6 weeks of the regular season in 1995 then losing the one-game playoff 9-1, etc.

It's worth noting this really wasn't a collapse by Texas. They went 12-18 I think to finish the season. That's not really a collapse, this was more an incredibly improbable run by the A's.

45 year A's fan here. My father drove me from Denver to Kansas City to see my first A's game. They moved to Oakland the same year we moved back to Northern California. I've never seen an A's team like this. Honestly, I thought they were gonna dominate next year. But my little brother kept telling me "THIS year". I owe him a bottle of champagne. :)

GAT_00:seumasokelly: W.C.fields forever: seumasokelly: W.C.fields forever: seumasokelly: The Bestest: W.C.fields forever: I believe it's the 1st time all years the A's are in 1st place.

Not quite. They shared 1st with Seattle when they were 1-1 to start the season in Japan before anyone else played.They are, however, only the 3rd team in MLB history to win the division without having never otherwise led it outright.

Also only the 5th team ever to win the division after overcoming a 13 game or more deficit. If I'm not mistaken, they overcame a 5 game deficit with only 9 to play.

Didn't the Mets have a 7 game lead with 10 to play?Somebody remind me.

//Mets fan.

The New York Mets' 2007 season was the 46th regular season for the Mets. The Mets were defending their first divisional championship since 1988. While the Atlanta Braves were counted as possible competition, the Philadelphia Phillies were predicted as the front-runners, albeit by their own star shortstop, Jimmy Rollins.[1] Ultimately, Rollins' prediction rang true, as the Phillies won the NL East Division title on the last day of the regular season. With a seven-game lead on September 12, the Mets suffered a historic collapse by losing 12 of their last 17 games and missing the postseason. It is regarded as one of the worst collapses in MLB history.

So...It wasn't as bad as I thought.

Not quite, but still pretty bad. Definitely comparable to other memorable collapses. The Angels giving up a 13 game lead over the last 6 weeks of the regular season in 1995 then losing the one-game playoff 9-1, etc.

It's worth noting this really wasn't a collapse by Texas. They went 12-18 I think to finish the season. That's not really a collapse, this was more an incredibly improbable run by the A's.

UNAUTHORIZED FINGER:45 year A's fan here. My father drove me from Denver to Kansas City to see my first A's game. They moved to Oakland the same year we moved back to Northern California. I've never seen an A's team like this. Honestly, I thought they were gonna dominate next year. But my little brother kept telling me "THIS year". I owe him a bottle of champagne. :)

Quite frankly they're scary. It's why the Yankees getting the #1 is so important, because the only thing scarier are the Tigers in a short series. The Yankees winning tonight would make the A's and Tigers each other's problem for awhile, and that suits me fine.

UNAUTHORIZED FINGER:45 year A's fan here. My father drove me from Denver to Kansas City to see my first A's game. They moved to Oakland the same year we moved back to Northern California. I've never seen an A's team like this. Honestly, I thought they were gonna dominate next year. But my little brother kept telling me "THIS year". I owe him a bottle of champagne. :)

The Bestest:UNAUTHORIZED FINGER: 45 year A's fan here. My father drove me from Denver to Kansas City to see my first A's game. They moved to Oakland the same year we moved back to Northern California. I've never seen an A's team like this. Honestly, I thought they were gonna dominate next year. But my little brother kept telling me "THIS year". I owe him a bottle of champagne. :)

Quite frankly they're scary. It's why the Yankees getting the #1 is so important, because the only thing scarier are the Tigers in a short series. The Yankees winning tonight would make the A's and Tigers each other's problem for awhile, and that suits me fine.

The Bestest:UNAUTHORIZED FINGER: 45 year A's fan here. My father drove me from Denver to Kansas City to see my first A's game. They moved to Oakland the same year we moved back to Northern California. I've never seen an A's team like this. Honestly, I thought they were gonna dominate next year. But my little brother kept telling me "THIS year". I owe him a bottle of champagne. :)

Quite frankly they're scary. It's why the Yankees getting the #1 is so important, because the only thing scarier are the Tigers in a short series. The Yankees winning tonight would make the A's and Tigers each other's problem for awhile, and that suits me fine.

/Daisuke out already

Especially now. Detroit (with the worst record of all the playoff teams) is the only team that got to rest their pitching staff. Although I must admit my biggest fear is the Yankees. Because they're the damned Yankees. 27 World Championships proves they know how to win when it's important. Any hatred of them by me is definitely alloyed with respect. I love baseball so much that sometimes I wish I was born in the capital of baseball, New York.

W.C.fields forever:UNAUTHORIZED FINGER: 45 year A's fan here. My father drove me from Denver to Kansas City to see my first A's game. They moved to Oakland the same year we moved back to Northern California. I've never seen an A's team like this. Honestly, I thought they were gonna dominate next year. But my little brother kept telling me "THIS year". I owe him a bottle of champagne. :)

Congrats!! How many rookies on that team?

Memory's fuzzy, but probably quite a few, because anyone that was good got traded to the Yankees. I don't remember who pitched in my first major league game, but my all-time favorite player was on the pitching staff. Number 27, Jim Hunter. I got to meet him once when I was eleven, after the A's lost a doubleheader to Texas in 1973. He was on the disabled list (took a line drive off his hand in the All-Star Game), but he spent a good 20 minutes talking to me about baseball. I wrote him a letter thanking him, and he sent me one back. I met the Rangers' pitcher Jim Bibby that same day, and wished him luck the next day. I'll never do that again, he threw a no-hitter against my A's.

If it were any other team, this collapse would really be brutal. But since the Rangers provided their fans with the most heartbreaking game ever seen last year, losing a 5 game lead with 9 games to play just merely sucks a fat one.

Congrats to the A's, they kicked ass and took care of business. I'll be rooting for the Rangers on Friday, but not expecting much. They have no spark, no drive, no fight.